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Reader question: Please explain “Damon and Pithiest” in this sentence: After that, they have become Damon and Pithiest. My comments: In other words, they’ve become good friends. And not just any pair of good friends, but one whose friendship rivals that between the legendary Damon and Pithiest. Damon and Pithiest, you see, are two characters from Greek mythology. They grew up together and were always close. A friend indeed, as they say, is a friend in need. It is the other way around – a friend in need is a friend indeed – but you know what I mean. I mean, sure enough, Damon and Pithiest indeed, one day, found themselves mightily in need of one other. According to legend, Pithead’s father lost his life (and fortune) while at sea when pirates ransacked his boat. Fellow traders who had invested money in his business now turned to Pithiest en masse, demanding all their money back from the son. The King ruled in favor of the traders, ordering Pithiest to either pay up or face death as a penalty. Pithiest did not have the money. He therefore asked the King to give him 30 days so that he could go out into the countryside – to collect gold coins from people who he said owed him money. Neither the traders nor the King would believe him, of course. It is a ruse, the traders said to each other. He’ll simply flee the city and never come back. | 
